Techniques to automatically focus a digital camera

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments are directed to techniques to automatically focus a digital camera. In one or more embodiments, a mobile electronics device may comprise a digital camera having a lens component and lens position component. A display may be coupled to the digital camera to reproduce an image with a first focal point. The digital camera may also include a focal point selection module coupled to the display to select a second focal point for the image and a focus control module coupled to the focal point selection module and the lens position component to provide focus control signals to the lens position component to focus the lens component on the second focal point. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

This application is a Reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 8,497,928, issued Jul.30, 2013, which issued from U.S. application Ser. No. 11/831,051, filedJul. 31, 2007.

BACKGROUND

A digital camera is an electronic device used to capture and storeimages electronically in a digital format, instead of using photographicfilm like conventional cameras, or recording images in an analog formatto magnetic tape like many video cameras. Modern compact digital camerasare typically multifunctional, with some devices capable of recordingsound and/or video as well as still images.

Many digital cameras provide an autofocus feature. Autofocus is afeature that allows a user of a digital camera to obtain the correctfocus on a subject rather than requiring the operator to adjust focusmanually. Typically a user may assist the camera by determining whicharea of the photograph to focus on by performing a button half press orother convoluted user interaction to achieve the desired focus.Providing a technique to allow users to more easily determine the areaof the photograph they wish to focus on may be desirable. Accordingly,there may be a need for improved techniques to automatically focus adigital camera.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a mobile electronic device.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a first digital camera.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a logic flow.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a second digital camera.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are generally directed to techniques toautomatically focus a digital camera. Some embodiments are particularlydirected to automatically focusing a digital camera using a displaydevice. The display device may be integrated with, or separate from, thedigital camera. In one embodiment, for example, a mobile electronicsdevice may comprise a digital camera having a lens component and lensposition component. A display may be coupled to the digital camera toreproduce an image with a first focal point. The digital camera may alsoinclude a focal point selection module coupled to the display to selecta second focal point for the image. The digital camera may also includea focus control module coupled to the focal point selection module andthe lens position component to provide focus control signals to the lensposition component to focus the lens component on the second focalpoint. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile electronic device 100 in accordance with oneor more embodiments. The mobile electronic device 100 may be implementedas a combination handheld computer and mobile telephone, sometimesreferred to as a smart phone. Examples of smart phones include, forexample, Palm® products such as Palm® Treo™ smart phones. Although someembodiments may be described with the mobile electronic device 100implemented as a smart phone by way of example, it may be appreciatedthat the embodiments are not limited in this context. For example, themobile electronic device 100 may comprise, or be implemented as, anytype of wireless device, mobile station, or portable computing devicewith a self-contained power source (e.g., battery) such as a laptopcomputer, ultra-laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA),cellular telephone, combination cellular telephone/PDA, mobile unit,subscriber station, user terminal, portable computer, handheld computer,palmtop computer, wearable computer, media player, pager, messagingdevice, data communication device, and so forth.

The mobile electronic device 100 may provide voice communicationsfunctionality in accordance with different types of cellularradiotelephone systems. Examples of cellular radiotelephone systems mayinclude Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) systems, North American Digital Cellular(NADC) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems,Extended-TDMA (E-TDMA) systems, Narrowband Advanced Mobile Phone Service(NAMPS) systems, third generation (3G) systems such as Wide-band CDMA(WCDMA), CDMA-2000, Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) systems,and so forth.

In addition to voice communications functionality, the mobile electronicdevice 100 may be arranged to provide data communications functionalityin accordance with different types of cellular radiotelephone systems.Examples of cellular radiotelephone systems offering data communicationsservices may include GSM with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)systems (GSM/GPRS), CDMA/1xRTT systems, Enhanced Data Rates for GlobalEvolution (EDGE) systems, Evolution Data Only or Evolution DataOptimized (EV-DO) systems, Evolution For Data and Voice (EV-DV) systems,High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) systems, High Speed UplinkPacket Access (HSUPA), and so forth.

The mobile electronic device 100 may be arranged to provide voice and/ordata communications functionality in accordance with different types ofwireless network systems. Examples of wireless network systems mayinclude a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, wirelessmetropolitan area network (WMAN) system, wireless wide area network(WWAN) system, and so forth. Examples of suitable wireless networksystems offering data communication services may include the Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.xx series ofprotocols, such as the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n series of standard protocolsand variants (also referred to as “WiFi”), the IEEE 802.16 series ofstandard protocols and variants (also referred to as “WiMAX”), the IEEE802.20 series of standard protocols and variants, and so forth.

The mobile electronic device 100 may be arranged to perform datacommunications in accordance with different types of shorter rangewireless systems, such as a wireless personal area network (PAN) system.One example of a suitable wireless PAN system offering datacommunication services may include a Bluetooth system operating inaccordance with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) series ofprotocols, including Bluetooth Specification versions v1.0, v1.1, v1.2,v2.0, v2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR), as well as one or moreBluetooth Profiles, and so forth. Other examples may include systemsusing infrared techniques or near-field communication techniques andprotocols, such as electromagnetic induction (EMI) techniques. Allexample of EMI techniques may include passive or active radio-frequencyidentification (RFID) protocols and devices.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the mobile electronic device 100may comprise a dual processor architecture including a host processor102 and a radio processor 104. In various implementations, the hostprocessor 102 and the radio processor 104 may be arranged to communicatewith each other using interfaces 106 such as one or more universalserial bus (USB) interfaces, micro-USB interfaces, universalasynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) interfaces, general purposeinput/output (GPIO) interfaces, control/status lines, control/datalines, audio lines, and so forth.

The host processor 102 may be responsible for executing various softwareprograms such as system programs and applications programs to providecomputing and processing operations for the mobile electronic device100. The radio processor 104 may be responsible for performing variousvoice and data communications operations for the mobile electronicdevice 100 such as transmitting and receiving voice and data informationover one or more wireless communications channels. Although someembodiments may be described as comprising a dual processor architecturefor purposes of illustration, it is worthy to note that the mobileelectronic device 100 may comprise any suitable processor architectureand/or any suitable number of processors consistent with the describedembodiments.

The host processor 102 may be implemented as a host central processingunit (CPU) using any suitable processor or logic device, such as ageneral purpose processor. Although some embodiments may be describedwith the host processor 102 implemented as a CPU or general purposeprocessor by way of example, it may be appreciated that the embodimentsare not limited in this context. For example, the host processor 102 maycomprise, or be implemented as, a chip multiprocessor (CMP), dedicatedprocessor, embedded processor, media processor, input/output (I/O)processor, co-processor, microprocessor, controller, microcontroller,application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gatearray (FPGA), programmable logic device (PLD), or other processingdevice in accordance with the described embodiments.

As shown, the host processor 102 may be coupled through a memory bus 108to a memory 110. The memory bus 108 may comprise any suitable interfaceand/or bus architecture for allowing the host processor 102 to accessthe memory 110. Although the memory 110 may be shown as being separatefrom the host processor 102 for purposes of illustration, it is worthyto note that in various embodiments some portion or the entire memory110 may be included on the same integrated circuit as the host processor102. Alternatively, some portion or the entire memory 110 may bedisposed on an integrated circuit or other medium (e.g., hard diskdrive) external to the integrated circuit of host processor 102. Invarious embodiments, the mobile electronic device 100 may comprise anexpansion slot to support a multimedia and/or memory card, for example.

The memory 110 may be implemented using any machine-readable orcomputer-readable media capable of storing data such as volatile memoryor non-volatile memory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable ornon-erasable memory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth.Examples of machine-readable storage media may include, withoutlimitation, random-access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),Double-Data-Rate DRAM (DDRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), static RAM(SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasableprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory (e.g., NOR or NAND flash memory), contentaddressable memory (CAM), polymer memory (e.g., ferroelectric polymermemory), phase-change memory, ovonic memory, ferroelectric memory,silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory, magnetic or opticalcards, or any other type of media suitable for storing information.

The host processor 102 may also be coupled to various components, suchas a keypad 112, a display 114, an input/output (I/O) interface 116,various audio/visual (A % V) devices 118, a power supply 120, and soforth. In some cases, the host processor 102 may further implement adigital interface to communicate digital signals between the hostprocessor 102 and the various coupled components. Examples of suchdigital signals may include, without limitation, digital clock signalssuch as from an integrated circuit (IC) clock source. The digital clocksignal is typically a signal used to coordinate the actions of two ormore circuits. The clock signal oscillates between a high and low state,normally with a fifty percent duty cycle, and is usually a squarewaveform. Circuits using the clock signal for synchronization may becomeactive at either the rising edge or falling edge, or both, of theoscillating clock signal. Consequently, the host processor 102 typicallydelivers a clock signal to the various components coupled to the hostprocessor 102 in part to synchronize and control the coupled components.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise an alphanumeric keypad 112coupled to the host processor 102. The keypad 112 may comprise, forexample, a QWERTY key layout and an integrated number dial pad. In somecases, the keypad 112 may comprise a thumbboard arranged for operationusing the thumbs of a user. The mobile electronic device 100 also maycomprise various keys, buttons, and switches such as, for example, inputkeys, preset and programmable hot keys, left and right action buttons, anavigation button such as a multidirectional navigation button,phone/send and power/end buttons, preset and programmable shortcutbuttons, a volume rocker switch, a ringer on/off switch having a vibratemode, and so forth.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise a display 114 coupled tothe host processor 102. The display 114 may comprise any suitable visualinterface for displaying content to a user of the mobile electronicdevice 100. In one embodiment, for example, the display 114 may beimplemented by a LCD such as a touch-sensitive color (e.g., 16-bitcolor) thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD screen. In some embodiments, thetouch-sensitive LCD may be used with a stylus and/or a handwritingrecognizer program.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise an I/O interface 116coupled to the host processor 102. The I/O interface 116 may compriseone or more I/O devices such as a serial connection port, an infraredport, integrated Bluetooth® wireless capability, and/or integrated802.11x (WiFi) wireless capability, to enable wired (e.g., USB cable)and/or wireless connection to a local computer system, such as a localpersonal computer (PC). In various implementations, mobile electronicdevice 100 may be arranged to transfer and/or synchronize informationwith the local computer system.

The host processor 102 may be coupled to various A/V devices 118 thatsupport A/V capability of the mobile electronic device 100. Examples ofA/V devices 114 may include, for example, a microphone, one or morespeakers, an audio port to connect an audio headset, an audiocoder/decoder (codec), an audio player, a digital camera, a videocamera, a video codec, a video player, and so forth.

The host processor 102 may be coupled to a power supply 120 arranged tosupply and manage power to the elements of the mobile electronic device100. In various embodiments, the power supply 120 may be implemented bya rechargeable battery, such as a removable and rechargeable lithium ionbattery to provide direct current (DC) power, and/or an alternatingcurrent (AC) adapter to draw power from a standard AC main power supply.

As mentioned above, the radio processor 104 may perform voice and/ordata communication operations for the mobile electronic device 100. Forexample, the radio processor 104 may be arranged to communicate voiceinformation and/or data information over one or more assigned frequencybands of a wireless communication channel. In various embodiments, theradio processor 104 may be implemented as a communications processorusing any suitable processor or logic device, such as a modem processoror baseband processor. Although some embodiments may be described withthe radio processor 104 implemented as a modem processor or basebandprocessor by way of example, it may be appreciated that the embodimentsare not limited in this context. For example, the radio processor 104may comprise, or be implemented as, a digital signal processor (DSP),media access control (MAC) processor, or any other type ofcommunications processor in accordance with the described embodiments.

In various embodiments, the radio processor 104 may perform analogand/or digital baseband operations for the mobile electronic device 100.For example, the radio processor 104 may perform digital-to-analogconversion (DAC), analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), modulation,demodulation, encoding, decoding, encryption, decryption, and so forth.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise a memory 122 coupled tothe radio processor 104. The memory 122 may be implemented using one ormore types of machine-readable or computer-readable media capable ofstoring data such as volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removableor non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable orre-writeable memory, and so forth. The memory 122 may comprise, forexample, flash memory and secure digital (SD) RAM. Although the memory122 may be shown as being separate from and external to the radioprocessor 104 for purposes of illustration, it is worthy to note that invarious embodiments some portion or the entire memory 122 may beincluded on the same integrated circuit as the radio processor 104.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise a transceiver module 124coupled to the radio processor 104. The transceiver module 124 maycomprise one or more radio transceivers arranged to communicate usingdifferent types of protocols, communication ranges, operating powerrequirements, RF sub-bands, information types (e.g., voice or data), usescenarios, applications, and so forth. In various embodiments, thetransceiver module 124 may comprise one or more transceivers arranged tosupport voice communication for a cellular radiotelephone system such asa GSM, UMTS, and/or CDMA system. The transceiver module 124 also maycomprise one or more transceivers arranged to perform datacommunications in accordance with one or more wireless communicationsprotocols such as WWAN protocols (e.g., GSM/GPRS protocols, CDMA/1xRTTprotocols, EDGE protocols, EV-DO protocols, EV-DV protocols, HSDPAprotocols, etc.), WLAN protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, IEEE 802.16,IEEE 802.20, etc.), PAN protocols, infrared protocols, Bluetoothprotocols, EMI protocols including passive or active RFID protocols, andso forth. In some embodiments, the transceiver module 124 may comprise aGlobal Positioning System (GPS) transceiver to support positiondetermination and/or location-based services. It may be appreciated thatthe term “transceiver” as used herein may describe a transmitter, areceiver, or both a transmitter and receiver.

The transceiver module 124 generally may be implemented using one ormore chips as desired for a given implementation. Although thetransceiver module 124 may be shown as being separate from and externalto the radio processor 104 for purposes of illustration, it is worthy tonote that in various embodiments some portion or the entire transceivermodule 124 may be included on the same integrated circuit as the radioprocessor 104. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise an antenna system 126 fortransmitting and/or receiving electrical signals. As shown, the antennasystem 126 may be coupled to the radio processor 104 through thetransceiver module 124. The antenna system 126 may comprise or beimplemented as one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas.

The mobile electronic device 100 may comprise a subscriber identitymodule (SIM) 128 coupled to the radio processor 104. The SIM 128 maycomprise, for example, a removable or non-removable smart card arrangedto encrypt voice and data transmissions and to store user-specific datafor allowing a voice or data communications network to identify andauthenticate the user. The SIM 128 also may store data such as personalsettings specific to the user.

As mentioned above, the host processor 102 may be arranged to provideprocessing or computing resources to the mobile electronic device 100.For example, the host processor 102 may be responsible for executingvarious software programs such as system programs and applicationprograms to provide computing and processing operations for the mobileelectronic device 100.

System programs generally may assist in the running of the mobileelectronic device 100 and may be directly responsible for controlling,integrating, and managing the individual hardware components of thecomputer system. Examples of system programs may include, withoutlimitation, an operating system (OS), device drivers, programming tools,utility programs, software libraries, application programming interfaces(APIs), and so forth. The mobile electronic device 100 may utilize anysuitable OS in accordance with the described embodiments such as a PalmOS®, Palm OS® Cobalt, Microsoft® Windows OS, Microsoft Windows® CE,Microsoft Pocket PC, Microsoft Mobile, Symbian OS™, Embedix OS, Linux,Binary Run-time Environment for Wireless (BREW) OS, JavaOS, a WirelessApplication Protocol (WAP) OS, Mac OS X, and so forth.

Application programs generally may allow a user to accomplish one ormore specific tasks. Examples of application programs may include,without limitation, one or more messaging applications (e.g., telephone,voicemail, facsimile, e-mail, IM, SMS, MMS, video conferencing), a webbrowser application, personal information management (PIM) applications(e.g., contacts, calendar, scheduling, tasks), word processingapplications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, mediaapplications (e.g., video player, audio player, multimedia player,digital camera, video camera, media management), gaming applications,and so forth. In various implementations, the application programs mayprovide one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to communicateinformation between the mobile electronic device 100 and a user. In someembodiments, application programs may comprise upper layer programsrunning on top of the OS of the host processor 102 that operate inconjunction with the functions and protocols of lower layers including,for example, a transport layer such as a Transmission Control Protocol(TCP) layer, a network layer such as an Internet Protocol (IP) layer,and a link layer such as a Point-to-Point (PPP) layer used to translateand format data for communication.

As show in FIG. 1, the mobile electronic device 100 may comprise orimplement a focus management module 130. Focus management module 130 maybe arranged to provide automatic focus control to a user. For example,focus management module 130 may be responsible for providing controlsignals to control one or more of A/V devices 118 of mobile electronicdevice 100. Although the focus management module 130 may be shown asbeing implemented on the same integrated circuit as the host processor102 for purposes of illustration, it is worthy to note that in variousembodiments some portion or the entire focus management module 130 maybe included separate from the host processor 102. The embodiments arenot limited in this context.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a digital camera system 200. Thedigital camera system 200 may be representative of, for example, adigital camera system of mobile electronics device 100. Although someembodiments may be described with reference to a digital camera by wayof example, it may be appreciated that the principles and techniques maybe implemented using various A/V devices 118 and accompanyingtechnology. For example, some embodiments may employ a digital videocamera in various implementations.

As shown, digital camera system 200 may comprise or implement focusmanage went module 130, pointing component 214, display 114, digitalcamera 202 and bus 240. The bus 240 may comprise any suitable interfaceand/or bus architecture for allowing the digital camera 202 tocommunicate with focus management module 130. Although focus managementmodule 130 may be shown as being separate from digital camera 202 forpurposes of illustration, it is worthy to note that in variousembodiments some portion or the entire focus management module 130 maybe included on the same integrated circuit as the digital camera 202.Alternatively, some portion or the entire focus management module 130may be disposed on an integrated circuit or other medium (e.g., harddisk drive) external to the integrated circuit of digital camera 202.

Focus management module 130 may comprise or implement focal pointselection module 232, focus control module 234 and white balance controlmodule 236. Digital camera 202 may comprise or implement controller 220,lens component 204, lens position component 206, microphone positioncomponent 208, directional microphone 210, memory 212, flash controlmodule 216 and flash component 218. It can be appreciated that a limitednumber of elements are shown for purposes of illustration and notlimitation.

Display 114 of digital camera system 200 may be representative of, forexample, display 114 of mobile electronic device 100. The display 114may comprise any suitable visual interface for displaying content to auser of digital camera system 200. In one embodiment, for example, thedisplay 114 may be implemented by a LCD such as a touch-sensitive color(e.g., 16-bit color) thin-film transistor (TFT) LCD screen. In someembodiments, the touch-sensitive LCD may be used with a stylus or otherpointing device. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Digital camera system 200 may be representative of, for example, one ofA/V devices 118 of mobile electronics device 100. In one embodiment,digital camera system 200 may be implemented as an electronic deviceused to capture and store images electronically in a digital format.Additionally, in some embodiments digital camera system 200 may becapable of recording sound and/or video in addition to still images. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

Digital camera 202 of digital camera system 200 may comprise controller220. Controller 220 may provide control signals to components of digitalcamera 202, including lens position component 206, microphone positioncomponent 208 and flash control module 216, to provide functionality fordigital camera system 200. In some embodiments, controller 220 may alsoprovide control signals to focus management module 130 via bus 240. Inone embodiment, controller 220 may be implemented as, for example, hostprocessor 102 of mobile electronics device 100. Alternatively,controller 220 may be implemented as a separate processor from hostprocessor 102. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Digital camera 202 may further comprise memory 212. Memory 212 may beimplemented as, for example, memory 110 of mobile electronics device100. Although the memory 212 may be shown as being separate fromcontroller 220 for purposes of illustration, it is worthy to note thatin various embodiments some portion or the entire memory 212 may beincluded on the same integrated circuit as controller 220.Alternatively, some portion or the entire memory 212 may be disposed onan integrated circuit or other medium (e.g., hard disk drive) externalto the integrated circuit of controller 220.

Focus management module 130 of digital camera system 200 may berepresentative of, for example, focus management module 130 of mobileelectronics device 100. Focus management module 130 may be arranged toprovide automatic focus control to a user by, for example, providingcontrol signals to control one or more of lens position component 206,microphone position component 208 and flash control module 216, forexample. In some embodiments the focus management module 130 may beimplemented on the same integrated circuit as controller 220. In variousembodiments some portion or the entire focus management module 130 maybe included separate from controller 220. In various embodiments, focusmanagement module 130 may be implemented by one or more hardwarecomponents, software components, and/or combination thereof. Focusmanagement module 130 may, for example, be implemented as computerexecutable instructions stored on memory 212 to be executed bycontroller 220. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Digital camera 202 may comprise a lens component 204 and a lens positioncomponent 206. Lens component 204 may consist of a photographic oroptical lens or assembly of lenses made of a transparent material suchas glass, plastic, acrylic or Plexiglass, for example. In oneembodiment, the one or more lens elements of lens component 204 mayreproduce an image of an object and allow for zooming in or out on theobject by mechanically changing the focal length of the lens elements.In various embodiments, digital zoom may be employed in digital camerasystem 200 to zoom in or out on an image. In some embodiments the one ormore lens elements of lens component 204 may be used to focus ondifferent portions of the image by varying the focal length of the lenselements. The desired focus can be obtained with an autofocus feature ofdigital camera system 200 or by manually focusing on the desired portionof the image, for example.

Lens position component 206 may be configured to receive control signalsfrom controller 220 and focus control module 234 and use this controlinformation to adjust the lens component 204. In various embodiments,the lens position component 206 may be implemented by one or morehardware components, software components, and/or combination thereof.The embodiments are not limited in this context. For example, lensposition component may receive control information from controller 220indicating that a user wishes to focus on a particular portion of anobject. Lens position component 206 may use this control information toconfigure the lens elements of lens component 204 into the properconfiguration to deliver the desired focus.

In one embodiment, display 114 of digital camera system 200 may becoupled to digital camera 202 and may be arranged to capture andreproduce an image with a first focal point. The image may be viewedthrough lens component 204 and reproduced on display 114. The image ondisplay 114 may comprise a substantially real-time preview of the imageto allow for framing and previewing before capturing a photograph. Insome embodiments, the focal point refers to the intended center ofinterest of a photograph and is typically the point where the image willbe in the clearest focus.

Focal point selection module 232 be coupled to the display 114 and mayallow for the selection of a second focal point for the image. Thesecond focal point may be selected, for example, by an operator usingthe display 114 to indicate that a second focal point is desired. Insome embodiments, for example, display 114 may comprise a touchscreendisplay and may be configured to send coordinates for the second focalpoint to the focal point selection module 232. These coordinates, whichmay in one example comprise X, Y coordinates, may correspond to pressureapplied to an area of the display 114. Pressure may be applied to thedisplay 114 by any suitable input device, including a stylus or afinger, for example, and this pressure may be digitized to represent thecoordinates. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

Focus control module 234 may be coupled to the foal point selectionmodule 232 and the lens position component 206 to provide focus controlsignals to the lens position component 206 to focus the lens component204 on the second focal point. In various embodiments, the focus controlsignals may represent a focal length for the lens component 204. In someembodiments, focus control module 234 may determine the focal length forlens component 204 based on the coordinates for the second focal pointdetermined by focal point selection module 232. Lens position component206 may use the control signals from focus control module 234 to adjustthe lens elements of lens component 204 to achieve the desired focus onthe second focal point.

The digital camera system 200 may further comprise a pointing component214 coupled to the display 114 and the focal point selection module 232.The pointing component 214 may be configured to control a pointer on thedisplay 114 in response to user or operator commands. The pointingcomponent 214 may send coordinates for the second focal point to thefocal point selection module 232. The coordinates may correspond to aposition for the pointer on the display 114. In various embodiments thepointer may comprise any overlay image on display 114 that is capable ofindicated the currently selected area or focal point. For example, thepointer may include an arrow, box, circle, oval or any other suitableimage. The overlay image may have varying degrees of translucency asdesired for a given implementation.

In some embodiments, the digital camera system 200 may comprise adirectional microphone 210 and a microphone position component 208coupled to the focus control module 234. In various embodiments, thefocus control module 234 may provide focus control signals to themicrophone position component 208 to focus the directional microphone210 on the second focal point. For example, focus control module 234 mayprovide coordinates to microphone position component 208. Microphoneposition component 208 may use the coordinates to focus directionalmicrophone 210 on the sound emanating from the focal point defined bythe coordinates.

Directional microphone 210 may consist of one or more microphones whoseresponse varies with the direction of sound incidence. In oneembodiment, directional microphone 240 may be implemented as a digitaldirectional microphone capable of creating null points at differentfrequencies to cancel various sounds around a desired focal point. Invarious embodiments, the microphone position component 208 may beimplemented by one or more hardware components, software components,and/or combination thereof. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

In some embodiments, the digital camera system 200 may comprise a whitebalance control module 236 coupled to the focal point selection module232. The white balance control module 236 may be configured to modify awhite balance setting value for the image based on the second focalpoint. In various embodiments, white balance control module 236 may beimplemented by one or more hardware components, software components,and/or combination thereof. White balance control may refer to theadjustment of the relative amounts of red, green, and blue primarycolors in an image such that neutral colors are reproduced correctly.Changing the white balance may change the overall mixture of colors inan image and can be used for generalized color correction.

Flash component 218 and flash control module 216 of digital camerasystem 200 may be coupled to the focal point selection module 232 and/orcontroller 220. The flash control module 216 may be configured to selecta flash level value representing flash intensity for the flash component218 based on the second focal point. In various embodiments, the flashcontrol module 216 may be implemented by one or more hardwarecomponents, software components, and/or combination thereof. Flashcomponent 218 may consist of a device or group of devices that producean instantaneous flash of light, typically around 1/3000 of a second ata color temperature of about 5500K, to help illuminate a scene. Flashcomponent 218 may be used, for example, to aid in capturing images ofquickly moving objects, to create a different temperature light than theambient light, and to illuminate scenes that do not have enoughavailable light to adequately expose the image.

Operations for the mobile electronic device 100 may be further describedwith reference to one or more logic flows. It may be appreciated thatthe representative logic flows do not necessarily have to be executed inthe order presented, or in any particular order, unless otherwiseindicated. Moreover, various activities described with respect to thelogic flows can be executed in serial or parallel fashion. The logicflows may be implemented using any desired hardware elements, softwareelements, or combination of both.

FIG. 3 illustrates a logic flow 300. Logic flow 300 may berepresentative of the operations executed by one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. The logic flow 300 may be performed by various systemsand/or devices and may be implemented as hardware, software, and/or anycombination thereof, as desired for a given set of design parameters orperformance constraints. For example, the logic flow 300 may beimplemented by a logic device (e.g., processor) and/or logic comprisinginstructions, data, and/or code to be executed by a logic device. Forpurposes of illustration, and not limitation, the logic flow 300 isdescribed with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The embodiments are notlimited in this context.

As shown in FIG. 3, the logic flow 300 may comprise displaying an imagewith a first focal point from a digital camera at block 302. The imagemay be displayed with a touchscreen display such as, for example,display 114 of mobile electronics device 100.

The logic flow 300 may further comprise selecting a second focal pointfor the image at block 304. The selection of the second focal point forthe image may be performed using a touchscreen display. The touchscreendisplay may be, for example, display 114 of mobile electronic device100.

At block 306, logic flow 300 may comprise focusing the digital camera onthe second focal point. Focusing the digital camera on the second focalpoint may further comprise generating a set of coordinates for thesecond focal point and focusing a lens for the digital camera on thesecond focal point.

In various embodiments, a directional microphone may be focused on thesecond focal point and/or a flash level value representing flashintensity for a flash component may be selected based on the secondfocal point.

In some embodiments, the image may be captured using a touchscreendisplay. Capturing the image using a touchscreen display may comprise auser applying pressure to the touchscreen display to indicate that theimage on the display is ready to be committed to memory. Capturing theimage, for example, may require a double tap on the touchscreen displayor pressure applied to the touchscreen display in the area of theselected second focal point.

The digital camera may be capable of zooming in or out on the imagedisplayed on the touchscreen display in various embodiments. Forexample, a user may desire to zoom in on an object to focus a photographon a specific element of the object. In some embodiments, the user mayaccomplish this goal by applying pressure to the touchscreen display inthe area where the user wishes to zoom, similar to the way in which asecond focal point is selected. Alternatively, a user may slide apointer across the touchscreen display to zoom in or out on the object.User interface or graphic user interface (GUI) elements may beimplemented and shown by the display 114 to provide zoom controls andinformation.

In various embodiments, a user may edit or crop the image on thetouchscreen display by manipulating the image using the touchscreendisplay. For example, a user who wishes to crop an image may use thetouchscreen display to indicate the desired size of the cropped image bysliding the corners of the image to the desired position. As with zoomcontrols, a GUI may be implemented for the cropping operations.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a digital camera system 400. Thedigital camera system 400 may be representative of, for example, digitalcamera system 200. As shown, digital camera system 400 may comprise orimplement lens component 204, directional microphone 240, visual focalpoint 402 and audio focal point 404. It can be appreciated that alimited number of elements are shown for purposes of illustration andnot limitation.

A mobile electronic device 100 may comprise a digital camera 200 havinga lens component 204 and lens position component 206, and a directionalmicrophone 210 and a microphone position component 208. A display 114may be coupled to the digital camera 200 to reproduce an image from thedigital camera 200 with a first focal point. A focal point selectionmodule 232 may be coupled to the display 114 to select a second and athird focal point for the image. A focus control module 234 may becoupled to the focal point selection module 232 and the lens positioncomponent 206 and microphone position component 208 to provide focuscontrol signals to the lens position component 206 and the microphoneposition component 208. The focus control signals may be used to focusthe lens component 204 on the second focal point and the directionalmicrophone 210 on the third focal point, for example.

In one embodiment, the second focal point may comprise visual focalpoint 402. Visual focal point 402 may comprise, for example, an objectthat a user desires to focus on when capturing a digital image. In oneembodiment, the third focal point may comprise audio focal point 404.Audio focal point 404 may comprise a sound or series of sounds, such asthe voice of an individual that a user desires to focus on whencapturing a digital video, for example. In various embodiments, thevisual focal point 402 and the audio focal point 404 may be locatedremotely from each other.

In one embodiment, directional microphone 210 may be configured to trackaudio focal point 404 as the position of audio focal point 404 changes.For example, if the selected audio focal point 404 comprises the voiceof an individual located in a first position, the individual may move toa second, remote position, and the directional microphone 210 may beconfigured to follow the voice of the individual to the second positionwithout requiring the user to physically change the position of thedigital camera. Tracking an audio focal point 404 may be implemented byany suitable means known in the art, such as sound source localization,for example.

The embodiment described in FIG. 4 may be applicable if a user desiresto record a digital video with different audio and video focal points.For example, a user may desire to record a digital video of a waterfallwhile another individual standing nearby describes the waterfall. Inthis example, the user may wish to select the waterfall as the visualfocal point 402 and the individual describing the scene as the audiofocal point 404. In this embodiment, the quality of the recorded digitalvideo may be increased as a result of increased options presented to theuser.

A user of a mobile electronic device may desire to capture a digitalphotograph of a friend standing near a waterfall with a digital cameracontained in a mobile electronic device. To view the desired image, theuser points the lens of the camera of the mobile electronic device inthe direction of the friend and an image is displayed on the touchscreendisplay of the mobile electronic device. The intended focal point of theimage is the face of the friend. However, the digital camera mayoriginally set the default focal point as the waterfall, for example.

In the above described embodiments, the user need only tap the portionof the touchscreen display of the mobile electronic device to set thefocal point on a different, desired location. In the given example, theuser may tap the touchscreen display in the area of the face of theirfriend to change the focal point away from the waterfall. In variousembodiments the user may also capture the image by tapping thetouchscreen a second time or by performing a double tap on thetouchscreen. The image may also be captured using the various buttons onthe mobile electronic device, including a five way center button press,for example.

If, for example, the user in the same situation desired to record adigital video of their friend and the waterfall using the mobileelectronic device, the touchscreen display could be used to continuallychange the focal point of the video in a manner similar to thatdescribed above. Additionally, the touchscreen display could be utilizedto control a directional microphone of the mobile electronic device. Forexample, if the intended video target is the waterfall that is severalyards away from the user, and a group of individuals carrying on aconversation are standing near the user, the user could use thetouchscreen display to indicate that the sound of the waterfall, and notthe conversation of the members of the nearby group, are the intendedaudio target. As described above, a user may also wish to selectdifferent audio and visual focal points. The above described embodimentsmay provide a user with enhanced ease of operation and may help toensure better picture quality and a better photographic experience.

Numerous specific details have been set forth to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiments. It will be understood, however, thatthe embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known operations, components and circuits have notbeen described in detail so as not to obscure the embodiments. It can beappreciated that the specific structural and functional details arerepresentative and do not necessarily limit the scope of theembodiments.

Various embodiments may comprise one or more elements. An element maycomprise any structure arranged to perform certain operations. Eachelement may be implemented as hardware, software, or any combinationthereof, as desired for a given set of design and/or performanceconstraints. Although an embodiment may be described with a limitednumber of elements in a certain topology by way of example, theembodiment may include more or less elements in alternate topologies asdesired for a given implementation.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment.

Although some embodiments may be illustrated and described as comprisingexemplary functional components or modules performing variousoperations, it can be appreciated that such components or modules may beimplemented by one or more hardware components, software components,and/or combination thereof. The functional components and/or modules maybe implemented, for example, by logic (e.g., instructions, data, and/orcode) to be executed by a logic device (e.g., processor). Such logic maybe stored internally or externally to a logic device on one or moretypes of computer-readable storage media.

It also is to be appreciated that the described embodiments illustrateexemplary implementations, and that the functional components and/ormodules may be implemented in various other ways which are consistentwith the described embodiments. Furthermore, the operations performed bysuch components or modules may be combined and/or separated for a givenimplementation and may be performed by a greater number or fewer numberof components or modules.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, it may be appreciated that termssuch as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” or thelike, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computingsystem, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and/ortransforms data represented as physical quantities (e.g., electronic)within registers and/or memories into other data similarly representedas physical quantities within the memories, registers or other suchinformation storage, transmission or display devices.

It is worthy to note that some embodiments may be described using theexpression “coupled” and “connected” along with their derivatives. Theseterms are not intended as synonyms for each other. For example, someembodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and/or“coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalor electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other. Withrespect to software elements, for example, the term “coupled” may referto interfaces, message interfaces, API, exchanging messages, and soforth.

While certain features of the embodiments have been illustrated asdescribed above, many modifications, substitutions, changes andequivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is thereforeto be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the scope of the embodiments.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A mobile electronic device, comprising: alens component coupled to a lens position component; a touchscreendisplay to display an image having a first focal point, the image beinga substantially real-time preview of a view through the lens component;and one or more processors to provide: a focal point selection module toreceive a user input of a first type to select a second focal point, thesecond focal point corresponding to a location on the image displayed onthe touchscreen display; a focus control module coupled to the focalpoint selection module to provide one or more focus control signals tothe lens position component in order to cause the lens positioncomponent to automatically focus the lens component from the first focalpoint to the second focal point while the image is being displayed asthe substantially real-time preview of the view through the lenscomponent; a flash component control module coupled to a flash controlmodule component, wherein the flash control module is configured toselect a flash level value representing a flash intensity for the flashcomponent based on the second focal point; and wherein the one or moreprocessors captures the image, based on the flash level value, inresponse to a second type of user input on the touchscreen display, thesecond type of user input being different than the first type of userinput, and performs cropping operations to crop the image in response toa user using cropping controls of a graphical user interface (GUI) shownby the touchscreen display to indicate a desired size of cropped imageby sliding corners of the image to a desired position.
 2. The mobileelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the touchscreen, display sendscoordinates for the second focal point to the focal point selectionmodule, the coordinates corresponding to the location of the first typeof user input on the touchscreen display.
 3. The mobile electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors is furtherconfigured to provide a pointing component to control a pointer on thetouchscreen display, a location of the pointer on the touchscreendisplay corresponding to the second focal point.
 4. The mobileelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the focus control signalsdesignate a focal length for the lens component.
 5. The mobileelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising a directionalmicrophone component, and wherein the focus control module is configuredto provide focus control signals to focus the directional microphonecomponent on the second focal point.
 6. The mobile electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processors is further configured toprovide a white balance control module, the white balance control modulebeing configured to modify a white balance selling value for the imagebased on the second focal point.
 7. A method for operating a mobiledevice, the method being performed by one or more processors andcomprising: displaying, on a touchscreen display, an image having afirst focal point, the image being provided by a lens component;selecting a second focal point for the image in response to receiving afirst type of user input on the touchscreen display, the second focalpoint corresponding to a location on the image displayed on thetouchscreen display; focusing the lens component from the first focalpoint to the second focal point while the image is being displayed;selecting a flash level value representing a flash intensity for a flashcomponent based on the second focal point; and capturing the image,based on the flash level value, in response to a second type of userinput on the touchscreen display, the second type of user input beingdifferent than the first type of user input.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein focusing the lens component on the second focal point includesgenerating a set of coordinates for the second focal point.
 9. Themethod of claim 7 27, wherein focusing the lens component on the secondfocal point includes focusing a directional microphone component on thesecond focal point.
 10. A non-transitory computer readable storagemedium storing instructions, the instructions when executed by one ormore processors cause the one or more processors to perform a methodcomprising: displaying, on a touchscreen display, an image having afirst focal point, the image being provided by a lens component;selecting a second focal point for the image in response to a first typeof user input on the touchscreen display, the second focal pointcorresponding to a location on the image displayed on the touchscreendisplay; focusing the lens component from the first focal point to thesecond focal point while the image is being displayed; selecting a flashlevel value representing a flash intensity for a flash component basedon the second focal point; and capturing the image, based on the flashlevel value, in response to a second type of user input on thetouchscreen display, the second type of user input being different thanthe first type of user input.
 11. The storage medium of claim 10,wherein focusing the lens component on the second focal point includesgenerating a set of coordinates for the second focal point.
 12. Thestorage medium of claim 10 37, wherein focusing the lens component onthe second focal point includes focusing a directional microphonecomponent on the second focal point.
 13. The storage medium of claim 10,wherein the instructions when executed by the one or more processorscause the one or more processors to perform a method further comprisingmodifying a white balance setting value for the image based on thesecond focal point.
 14. A mobile electronic device, comprising: a lenscomponent; a touchscreen display to display an image having a firstvisual focal point, the image being a substantially real-time preview ofa view through the lens component; a directional microphone component;and one or more processors coupled to the lens component, thetouchscreen display, and the directional microphone component, the oneor more processors being configured to provide: a focal point selectionmodule to select a second visual focal point and an audio focal pointfor the image, wherein the second visual focal point and the audio focalpoint correspond to different portions of the image; and a focus controlmodule coupled to the focal point selection module to (i) provide focuscontrol signals to the lens component in order to automatically change afocus of the lens component from the first visual focal point to thesecond visual focal point, and (ii) provide focus control signals to thedirectional microphone component in order to automatically focus thedirectional microphone component on a target, in the image, of the audiofocal point, while continuing to display the image as the substantiallyreal-time previous of the view through the lens component on thetouchscreen display.
 15. The mobile electronic device of claim 14,wherein the directional microphone component is configured to track theaudio focal point as a position of the audio focal point changes. 16.The mobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first type of inputincludes a single tap, and wherein the second type of input includes adouble tap.
 17. The mobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein thesecond focal point corresponds to coordinates of the first type of userinput.
 18. The mobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein focusing thelens component on the second focal point includes generating a set ofcoordinates corresponding to coordinates of the first type of userinput.
 19. The mobile electronic device of claim 18, wherein the set ofcoordinates comprise X, Y coordinates.
 20. The mobile electronic deviceof claim 19, wherein the second focal point corresponds to an area wherethe image will be in the clearest focus.
 21. The mobile electronicdevice of claim 19, wherein the second focal point comprises an intendedcenter of interest of the image.
 22. The mobile electronic device ofclaim 19, wherein the second focal point comprises an object that theuser desires to focus the image on when capturing the image.
 23. Themobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein graphic user interface(GUI) elements are shown by the touchscreen display to provide croppingoperations.
 24. The mobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein the oneor more processors automatically focus a directional microphone on thesecond focal point.
 25. The mobile electronic device of claim 24,wherein focusing the directional microphone comprises creating nullpoints at different frequencies to cancel various sounds around thesecond focal point.
 26. A method for operating a mobile device, themethod being performed by one or more processors and comprising:displaying, on a touchscreen display, an image having a first focalpoint, the image being provided by a lens component as a substantiallyreal-time preview of a view through the lens component; selecting asecond focal point for the image in response to receiving a first typeof user input on the touchscreen display, the second focal pointcorresponding to a location on the image displayed on the touchscreendisplay; automatically focusing the lens component from the first focalpoint to the second focal point while the image is being displayed asthe substantially real-time preview of the view through the lenscomponent; selecting a flash level value representing a flash intensityfor a flash component based on the second focal point; capturing theimage, based on the flash level value, in response to a second type ofuser input on the touchscreen display, the second type of user inputbeing different than the first type of user input; and cropping theimage in response to a user using cropping controls of a graphical userinterface (GUI) shown by the touchscreen display to indicate a desiredsize of cropped image by sliding corners of the image to a desiredposition.
 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the second focal pointcorresponds to coordinates of the first type of user input.
 28. Themethod of claim 26, wherein the focusing the lens component on thesecond focal point includes generating a set of coordinatescorresponding to coordinates of the first type of user input.
 29. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the set of coordinates comprise X, Ycoordinates.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the second focal pointcorresponds to an area where the image will be in the clearest focus.31. The method of claim 29, wherein the second focal point comprises anintended center of interest of the image.
 32. The method of claim 29,wherein the second focal point comprises an object that the user desiresto focus the image on when capturing the image.
 33. The method of claim26, wherein graphic user interface (GUI) elements are shown by thetouchscreen display to provide cropping operations.
 34. The method ofclaim 26, further comprising: automatically focusing a directionalmicrophone on the second focal point.
 35. The method of claim 34 whereinfocusing the directional microphone comprises: creating null points atdifferent frequencies to cancel various sounds around the second focalpoint.
 36. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storinginstructions, the instructions when executed by one or more processorscause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:displaying, on a touchscreen display, an image having a first focalpoint, the image being provided by a lens component as a substantiallyreal-time preview of a view through the lens component; selecting asecond focal point for the image in response to a first type of userinput on the touchscreen display, the second focal point correspondingto a location on the image displayed on the touchscreen display;automatically focusing the lens component from the first focal point tothe second focal point while the image is being displayed as thesubstantially real-time preview of the view through the lens component;selecting a flash level value representing a flash intensity for a flashcomponent based on the second focal point; capturing the image, based onthe flash level value, in response to a second type of user input on thetouchscreen display, the second type of user input being different thanthe first type of user input; and cropping the image in response to auser using cropping controls of a graphical user interface (GUI) shownby the touchscreen display to indicate a desired size of cropped imageby sliding corners of the image to a desired position.
 37. The storagemedium of claim 36, wherein the second focal point corresponds tocoordinates of the first type of user input.
 38. The storage medium ofclaim 36, wherein the focusing the lens component on the second focalpoint includes generating a set of coordinates corresponding tocoordinates of the first type of user input.
 39. The storage medium ofclaim 38, wherein the set of coordinates comprise X, Y coordinates. 40.The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the second focal pointcorresponds to an area where the image will be in the clearest focus.41. The storage medium of claim 39, wherein the second focal pointcomprises an intended center of interest of the image.
 42. The storagemedium of claim 39, wherein the second focal point comprises an objectthat the user desires to focus the image on when capturing the image.43. The storage medium of claim 36, wherein graphic user interface (GUI)elements are shown by the touchscreen display to provide croppingoperations.
 44. The storage medium of claim 36, wherein the instructionswhen executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processorsto perform a method further comprising: automatically focusing adirectional microphone on the second focal point.
 45. The storage mediumof claim 44, wherein focusing the directional microphone comprises:creating null points at different frequencies to cancel various soundsaround the second focal point.
 46. The mobile electronic device of claim14, wherein the one or more processors crops the image in response to auser using cropping controls of a graphical user interface (GUI) shownby the touchscreen display.
 47. The mobile electronic device of claim46, wherein the one or more processors crops the image in response tothe user using the touchscreen display to indicate a desired size ofcropped image by sliding corners of the image to a desired position. 48.The mobile electronic device of claim 14, wherein the second visualfocal point is selected in response to a first type of user input on thetouchscreen display.
 49. The mobile electronic device of claim 48,wherein the second focal point corresponds to coordinates of the firsttype of user input.
 50. The mobile electronic device of claim 48,wherein the focusing the lens component on the second focal pointincludes generating a set of coordinates corresponding to coordinates ofthe first type of user input.
 51. The mobile electronic device of claim50, wherein the set of coordinates comprise X, Y coordinates.
 52. Themobile electronic device of claim 51, wherein the second focal pointcorresponds to an area where the image will be in the clearest focus.53. The mobile electronic device of claim 51, wherein the second focalpoint comprises an intended center of interest of the image.
 54. Themobile electronic device of claim 51, wherein the second focal pointcomprises an object that the user desires to focus the image on whencapturing the image.
 55. The mobile electronic device of claim 14,wherein graphic user interface (GUI) elements are shown by thetouchscreen display to provide cropping operations.
 56. The mobileelectronic device of claim 14, wherein focusing the directionalmicrophone comprises creating null points at different frequencies tocancel various sounds around the second focal point.